Changes
/* Attraction History */
==Attraction History==
The attraction that would one day be known as The Great Movie Ride actually began as an idea for [[EPCOT Center]]<ref name= "Studios"> http://www.studioscentral.com/history-great-movie-ride </ref>. In the early 1980’s a team of Imagineers, led by Randy Bright and WDI president Marty Skylar were tasked with creating two new pavilions for Future World<ref name= "Studios"/>. The team came up with two ideas, the [[Wonders of Life]] pavilion and the Great Moments at the Movies pavilion<ref name= "Studios"/>. While the Wonders of Life was green lit for inclusion in EPCOT Center, the Great Moments and the Movies attraction was set aside by Disney CEO Michael Eisner<ref name= "Studios"/>.
The original plans for the Great Moments at the Movies, called for the pavilion to be placed in between [[The Land]] and the [[Journey Into Imagination]] pavilions<ref name= "Studios"/>. The basic plot for the attraction which was to be housed within the pavilion would not only have given guest an inside look into how films were made, but it would have also allowed them to enter the films themselves<ref name= "Studios"/>. The façade for the new pavilion was to feature a movie set backdrop with a ticket booth for an entrance. The façade was intentionally designed to look fake as a commentary on Hollywood itself. After seeing the Great Moments at the Movies concept, Michael Eisner decided that the attraction was strong enough to build a whole new park around<ref name= "Studios"/>. Eventually, Disney decided to create the Disney MGM Studios, with the Great Moments and the Movies attraction as the new park’s centerpiece<ref name= "Studios"/>. Since The Great Movie Ride (as it was now called) was now going to be the focus of a new park, Disney Imagineers decided that they needed to create a new façade for the attraction. Because the Disney MGM Studios were set in the golden age of Hollywood (the 1920s-1930s), Imagineers decided to house the attraction inside one of Hollywood’s landmarks, Grumman’s Chinese Theater. Furthermore, since the attraction was no longer going to be housed in Epcot, Imagineers also decided that The Great Movie Ride’s plot would focus less on education, instead taking guests on a journey through various classic films.
Originally, the final scene in the attraction was going to be an extension of the Wizard of Oz scene. Guests would have come face to face with the Wizard, who would say his famous line “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”. Following this, the curtain would open showing that the bandit (or gangster) who had hijacked the ride earlier was still alive. Finally, guests would approach a large platform where models of all of the Audio Animatronic characters seen earlier in the ride would reappear and take a bow. Although this scene was eventually scrapped, The Great Movie Ride opened with the Disney MGM Studios on May 1, 1989.
Since its opening, The Great Movie Ride has only seen two major changes. The first change to the attraction came shortly after its opening. The Footlight Parade scene that originally featured a rotating cake and attached water pumps (as seen in the movie) was significantly toned down. The cake in the scene was constantly breaking down and the water pumps would fail, causing the ride path to flood. Disney Imagineers eventually decided to leave the cake stationary, and use lighting effects instead of water pumps. The other change came in 2008 when the Wicked Witch of the West Audio Animatronic was replaced with a newer model.
On November 25, Disney and Turner Classic Movies announced that TCM would become the new sponsor of The Great Movie Ride. As part of the agreement on May 30, 2015 the attraction’s preshow and closing montage were updated. Following the update TCM host Robert Osborne introduces the film clips seen in the attraction’s preshow and the closing montage. Furthermore, Osborne was added as the attraction’s narrator. Following these changes, the live cast member is still featured in the interactive parts of the ride; however Robert Osborne is the one who narrates The Great Movie Ride’s scenes.
==Attraction Plot==
